A week and a half went by. 11 days of Jack and Edmund trying not to look at each other in classes, 11 days of Jack and Edmund trying not to speak to each other, 11 days of Edmund and Jack trying to pretend that nothing had ever happened between them and 11 days of Edmund riding out his own nightmares. Edmund spent a lot of time with Peter and Caspian while Jack retreated to Liam and Chris. Peter and Caspian took Edmund under their wing, and while Edmund knew that they probably didn't want him around, but he couldn't pull himself away, he couldn't stand to be alone and he couldn't see Lucy and Susan every single day.

"Jack…wait up." Edmund pulled Jack aside after their last class on Wednesday.

"What's up Edmund?" Jack asked as they slid into their alleyway.

"I can't do this, Jack." Edmund shook his head. "I can't be alone and there's no one else for me…I've thought about it, and it's you. I love you so, so much. I need you and I want to be with you, I don't care if you don't believe me-"

"I do, ok? I care." Jack shook his head. "I can't be in a relationship like that, alright? Edmund, it's not you, ok? It's my problems that are getting in the way of us. I care about you Edmund, I really do, but it's not going to work if I can't figure out my own issues. I'm sorry." Jack turned around and walked away, leaving Edmund all alone. Edmund sighed and sat down, leaning his back up against the wall. He closed his eyes and started running it through his mind. It's over. He doesn't love you anymore and you don't need him, you don't Ed, he's not what you need. You need someone who will believe you, you need someone who will trust you in whatever you say, you need someone who – who are you kidding Ed? Edmund lightly banged his head against the bricks. You need someone who will challenge you! If you had someone who just believed everything you said life would be boring…but you have to stop chasing after him, he doesn't want you. It's over. Get used to it.

"Ed?" Caspian sat down opposite the younger boy and looked at him skeptically. "What's wrong?"

"If I said nothing, would you believe me?" Edmund sighed as Caspian raised an eyebrow.

"No, but if you do not want to talk about it, that is alright." Caspian shrugged.

"Would you maybe not tell Peter about it if I told you?"

"If it is something that he needs to know of, then I am sorry, I will tell him, but if I do not think that he needs to know, we can keep it between you and I."

"I tried to get Jack to take me back. I told him that I didn't care if he didn't believe me, I loved him anyways and I couldn't stand to be without him and he just walked away from me." Edmund shook his head. "I really thought that he and I were going to work out, I really did…I don't know what went wrong."

"Yes you do." Caspian spoke solemnly and looked at Edmund with a wisdom he rarely displayed.

"You're right…" Edmund sighed. "I guess I just don't want to…I'm trying to get it through my head that it's over and it's just killing me."

"I know." Caspian smiled at Edmund. "When I thought that I was never going to see Peter again I tried to do the same thing. On the way to the professor's house I tried over and over again to convince myself that Peter and I were over, but I just could not do it and I think that, in a way, that is part of why I could not get back to Narnia."

"What are you saying?" Edmund asked, confused.

"I am saying that if you want something bad enough, maybe you will get it."

"No." Edmund shook his head and got to his feet. "Life doesn't work like that Caspian, not for me." The younger boy walked away, still trying to convince himself that he didn't need Jack.

o.o.o.o.o.o

"He is so heartbroken…" Caspian sighed as he and Peter locked their door. "I saw him walking alone today and he just looked so down, so upset." Caspian pulled Peter into an aggressive kiss, immediately pushing his tongue in to Peter's mouth.

"I know." Peter nodded as they pulled away for air. "I just don't know what to do anymore, I don't know what to tell him…I'm supposed to be experienced in this sort of thing, but you're the only relationship that I ever really cared about, and our problems are a lot different than Ed and Jack." Peter grabbed the collar of Caspian's shirt and pulled him back into the kiss.

"Is there anything that we can do for him?" Caspian asked as he pulled Peter's shirt off.

"I have no idea." Peter shrugged and pushed Caspian's shirt to the floor beside his. "But god, I hope so." Caspian kissed Peter's forehead and gently eased him back on to one of the two twin beds.

"I love you." Caspian smiled and covered Peter's mouth with his own. "What I am about to say is going to sound horrible, but do you think we could just forget about Edmund for a half an hour and just focus and you and I?"

"I think that's a good idea." Peter smiled and wrapped his arms around Caspian, pulling him downwards into the kiss. Soon both boys were asleep, tangled up in each other, completely peaceful. It was the first time since Jack and Edmund's break up that Peter and Caspian hadn't been worrying about Edmund; it was the first time that they had been completely absorbed in each other instead of someone else. They were completely content to be carefree, but they weren't aloud to enjoy that bliss for more than a few hours.

"PETER! CASPIAN! OPEN UP!" Edmund pounded his fist against the door the next morning.

"God, Ed, are you alright?" Peter opened the door, the sheets of the bed wrapped around his waist.

"No, I'm not! Well I mean…Jack's gone Peter. He took his bag and a bunch of his stuff is gone and he's not anywhere, no one's seen him! He's gone Peter, he's gone."